in70mm.com Mission:
• To record the history of the large format movies and the 70mm cinemas
as remembered by the people who worked with the films. Both during
making and during running the films in projection rooms and as the
audience, looking at the curved screen.•
in70mm.com, a unique internet based magazine, with articles about 70mm
cinemas, 70mm people, 70mm films, 70mm sound, 70mm film credits, 70mm
history and 70mm technology. Readers and fans of 70mm are always welcome
to contribute.

2013 Academy Member
Johan Wolthuis (The Netherlands)

Some months before I was born, a young man went to see a film based on
an operetta by Franz Lehar starring Martha Eggerth and Jan Kiepura,. It
was a life changing experience and triggered a life-long love of film
and especially musicals.

Later that year, while faced with the more high profile stars, Rod
Taylor, Ava Gardner and Howard Keel, their celebrity was as nothing
compared to the shape of the screen. It was 1954 and CinemaScope was the
driving force to save cinemas from television.

July
1988 issue of Image Technology with the first announcement of The 70mm
Association

The following year, it was
VistaVision that
captivated this young mind. The 1950s was one new widescreen format after
another until in 1957 he was faced with the excitement of
"The Miracle of Todd-AO"
and the musical brilliance of "Oklahoma"
Soon to be followed by
"Around the World in 80 Days".
From that time on he was convinced that 70mm
Todd-AO with 6 channel sound
was the ultimate film presentation format for the cinema. An obsession was
born.

After years for gathering material and watching his favourite formats, he
reached the conclusion came across a BKSTS Film Formats poster and at the
same time heard of the International Cinerama Society and in 1988 he set up
the International 70mm Association. That also started a still ongoing
campaign with the major studios to work in 70mm and provide information on
their films.

Johan
Wolthuis is inducted into the Academy of the Widescreen Weekend. Picture
by Anders M Olsson

With a lot of correspondence from members and increasing amounts of material
he launched The 70mm
Newsletter, a magazine he published through to 1994. This became the
bible for me in the early years of the developing the Widescreen Weekend,
packed with information and rumours about 70mm prints. Without it, I doubt
we would have got started.

Today he is still promoting 70mm and celebrating movies in 70mm and Cinerama
and 60 years on from the birth of his great passion and in recognition of
his tireless work we are delighted to welcome to the Widescreen Academy
Johan Wolthuis.